DOCUMENT RESUME ED 466 754 CE 083 460 AUTHOR Mustapha, Ramlee; Abdullah, Abu TITLE Globalization and Its Impact on Technical-Vocational Education and Training in Malaysia. PUB DATE 2001-12-00 NOTE 14p.; Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for Career and Technical Education (75th, New Orleans, LA, December 13-16, 2001). PUB TYPE Reports - Evaluative (142) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; Computer Networks; Developing Nations; *Economic Change; *Economic Development; Educational Change; Foreign Countries; Global Approach; Industrialization; *Information Technology; International Cooperation; International Trade; *Labor Force Development; Lifelong Learning; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education; *Vocational Education IDENTIFIERS Globalization; Information Economy; *Malaysia ABSTRACT In Malaysia, vocational education and training (VET) is accorded a high priority in the nation's industrialization agenda. With the vision of becoming an industrialized nation in 2020, Malaysia must prepare a well-educated, skilled, and competitive workforce. The government has placed human resource development as a major emphasis and strategic policy to enhance Malaysia's competitive edge over other developing countries. In this era of globalization and the knowledge economy (k-economy), the future of Malaysia's competitiveness depends on the skills of its workforce. It is critical to assess the impact of globalization on technical-vocational education and training systems. Several major initiatives, such as the development of the Multimedia Super Corridor, have interconnected Malaysia with other developed nations in the world. Efforts are currently being made to fully use information technology in transforming the Malaysian society into a knowledge-based society. The advancement of the Internet and the multimedia technologies has been increasingly visible in the government and corporate sectors. The impact of globalization and k-economy has led to a heightened awareness of the need to reform the technical-vocational education and training systems.(Contains 18 references.) (YLB) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Globalization and its Impact on Technical-Vocational Education and Training in Malaysia Ram lee Mustapha National University of Malaysia Abu Abdullah International Islamic University Malaysia ACTE Annual Convention New Orleans, Louisiana 1316 December 2001 Abstract Theemergingandgrowinginterdependence among nations has createda waveof excitement about globalization.As the wave ofglobalization reached almostevery corner of the globe, each nation should be prepared to meet its challenges. One of the challenges is the critical preparationfor the future workforce. In preparing a competitive workforce for "a global marketplace," vocationaleducation and training (VET) has played an important role.In Malaysia, vocational education and training is accorded a high priority in the nation's industrialization agenda.With the vision of becoming an industrialized nation in 2020, Malaysia must prepare a well-educated, skilled and competitive workforce. Thus, the government has placed human resource development as a major emphasis and astrategic policy to enhance Malaysia's competitive edge over other developing countries. Inthe era of globalization and k- economy, the future of Malaysia's competitiveness depends onthe skills of its workforce. Therefore, it is critical to assess the impact of globalization on technical-vocational education andtraining systems in Malaysia.This paper will discuss several major initiatives, such as, the development of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) that has placed Malaysia within the global interconnectivity with otherdeveloped nations in the world. Efforts are currently being made to fully utilize IT in transformingthe Malaysian society into a knowledge-based society. The advancement of the Internet and the multimediatechnologies has been increasingly visible in the government and corporate sectors.The impact of globalization and k- economy has led to a heightenedawareness ofthe need to reform the technical-vocational and training systems. This paper also attempts to address the specific implications of globalization and k-economy on VET in Malaysia. Several recommendations will be provided. Introduction Globalization of economies and rapid technological change has affected virtually allcountries. Even though it is difficult to state precisely what does the term "globalization" means, expertshave lumped the term into three broad categories, i.e., as a process, an ideology, or a culture (Cox, 1996;Embong, 2000; Gray, 1998; Harvey, 1995; Mittelman, 1996).As such, globalization can be characterized as a multi- dimensional phenomenon which encompasses economics, politics, culture, and ideology. Thus,it can have both positive and negative effects. Benefits of globalization can be seen in the increased of economic liberalization and efficiency especially in the service sector in many countries.On the other hand, globalization can be perceived as a new form of "colonialization".In particular, Third World and developing countries are concerned that globalization can weaken both their economic and political abilities. LLB Malaysia has achieved one of the fastest rates of economic development of anydeveloping country in the world (Govindan, 2000). Between 1970 and 1999, the economy grewat an average of 7% per annum, bringing along major economic and socialtransformation. However, with the 1997 Asian ,acZt currency crisis, the economy suffered a major recessionin 1998 with real GDP contracting by 7.4% (Govindan).However, the economy has rebounded quickly to reverse the slide in 1999.Further, Goh (cited in Dewan Ekonomi, March 2001, p.19)predicted that Malaysian economy would thrive based on two significant factors, i.e., strong domestic market and increased exports (Table1). C71 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Oft ice of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS Cif) CENTER (ERIC) Uwg c'eLThis document has been reproduced as BEEN GRANTED BY received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. 2 Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 Table 1. GNP Growth in East Asia 1999 2000 2020 (Projected) Malaysia 5.6 8.7 9.8 Singapore 5.4 8.8 9.0 Thailand 4.2 5.5 6.0 Philippines 3.3 3.5 5.0 Indonesia 0.3 3.9 4.0 Note. Data source: G.K Goh (cited in Dewan Ekonomi, March 2001). Malaysia's Global Competitiveness DespiteMalaysia'sfairlyhealthydomestic economy, prospectsfor2001willdepend substantially on global economic developments which are showing signs of down turn especially in the light of the recent terrorist attack on World Trade Center in New York.In terms of Malaysia's global competitiveness, the committee for the National K-Economy Master Plan has identified several key points that have made the transformation into knowledge-based economy crucial to Malaysia's competitiveness (Special Economic Issue, 2000). These include: The erosion of Malaysia's global competitiveness. This is measured through the level of the country's competitiveness. In 1994, the World Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia at number 18 but the country's position has eroded to 27 in 1999.In contrast, countries such as Ireland and Finland, two of the advanced countries in terms of the use of Informationand Communication Technology (ICT), have improved their competitiveness position from21stand I9th in 1994 to I I th and 3rd position, respectively in 1999. Extensive external competition. Countries all over the world are harnessing knowledge-intensive and technology-based industries to become their national agenda. Intensive internal competition.Internal competition will also heat up because barriers to outside competition will increase due to increasing globalization and liberalization. Rising labor costs The challenge of competitiveness and productivity is substantially higher today than in the past. Emphasis on value-added. It is believed that the knowledge-intensive industries provide greater value-added than traditional industries. A quantum leap in total factor productivity is needed. Depleting of natural resources. Role of Vocational-Technical Education in Malaysia's Industrialization Malaysia is a multiracial country with a population of 23 million.Constitutionally, education in Malaysia is the prerogative of the federal government.Historically, formal vocational education in Malaysia was introduced by the British in 1897 to train Malay youths as mechanics or fitters to manage the railway lines (Federation of Malaya, 1956; Zakaria, 1988). However, it was not until 1906 when the first public technical school was opened to train technicians to work in various government departmentsthat vocational training began to have an impact (Lourdesamy, 1972).In 1926, the first trade school was opened in Kuala Lumpur, thus marked the beginning of public vocational education in Malaysia (Ministry of Education, 1967). The trade schools offered courses for fitters, electricians, carpenters, brick layers, and tailors. The period 1961-1965 was a transitory period, where a number of changes being introduced to adapt the education system to
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